Carl Icahn Sells Half of His Netflix Stake, Thanks Reed, Kevin

Like some blockbuster movies, Netflix flew out of the gates only to bomb when the reviews rolled in on Tuesday, and even hedge-fund titan Carl Icahn took some profits, selling roughly half his stake in the company.

Netflix’s more than $66 a share price swing on Tuesday snapped a four-day winning streak for the high-flying video distributor and knocked it from its perch as the best performing stock in the S&P 500.

The stock ended the day down 9.2%, losing $32.47 to $322.52, its biggest dollar drop in two years and biggest percentage fall in one year, according to data from WSJ’s Market’s group.

Mr. Icahn decided to lock in some profits, announcing the move in an SEC filing and via his Twitter account. Mr. Icahn, who has made nearly $2 billion off his Netflix investment since buying into the company last October, sold about half of his stake, he said. He now owns about 2.7 million shares, good for a 4.5% stake. He previously owned about 5.5 million.

But even the steep fall can’t overtake the stock’s soaring year. It’s still up 248% this year, though it has now been surpassed by Best Buy for the best S&P 500 stock. The retailer is up 263% this year.